Improvement in bronzing-machines



4 Sheets--Sheet I.`

(54:) Y E. F. BENTON..

Improvement in Bronzing Machines.

Patented Dec. 26,1871.

4 Sheets--Sheet 2.

E. F. BENTON.

Improvement in Bronzing Machines.

Paten-ted Dec. 26, 1871.V

4 Sheets-Sheet 3;

E. F. BENTON.

Improvement in Bronzng Machines.

Patented Dec. 26, 1871.

W'aZzZ/Qqg ed 4 Sheets--Sheet 4.

E. F. BENTON.

AImprovement in Bronzing Machines.

Patje'nted Dec. 26, 18771'.

UNITED STATES EDWARD F. BENTON, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

'IMPROVEMENT `IN BRONZING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 122,216, dated December26, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. BENToN, of Buffalo, in the county of Erieand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Bronzin g=Machines5 andIdo hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing making a part of this application.

My invention relates to that class of machines known asbronzing-machines, and has for its object to render the operation ofbronzing complete in all its details, and to prevent the waste or flyingabout of the bronze material; and consists, rst, in the peculiarconstruction and operation of the hopper 5 second, in the combinationand arrangement, with the bronzing-roller, of one or more (preferablyfour) distributing-rollers, op erating substantially as and for thepurposes hereinafter to be described; third, in making the bronze-rollercapable of being automatically or by hand thrown out of gear with theother moving parts of the machine and moved away from the cylinder, andit and the distributing-rollers and hopper-cylinder remain in a state ofrest when desired, as will be presently explained, fourth, in thegripers, constructed substantially as described, in combination with thecylinder and releasing-lugs, as will be more fully set forth;

fifth, in the closing-sprin gs or their equivalent-s on the backs of thegriper-arms, so constructed and operated as to close the arm-holes inthe periphery of the cylinder to prevent thc escape into the interiorthereof' of bronze; sixth, in the combination, with the polishing andcleaning-rollers, of brushes for freeing the same of the bronze theytake up from the sheet seventh, in the com- I bination, with thepolishing and cleaning-rollers or any brushes for freeing superfluousbronze, of a reel or comb, as will be more fully set forth 5 eighth, incombination with the first or upper polishing and cleaning-roller andfreeing-brush, of a lower or auxiliary polishing and cleaning-roller andfreeing-brush, to more perfectly eifect the certain and completecleaning of the sheet, as will be more fully described; ninth, in thesuperfluous bronze receptacles, constructed as described, to eifectually.prevent any return of bronze to the cylinder or cleaning-rollers;tenth,

in providing a rubber seat for the griper-blade to close upon in orderthat any particle or hard substance `which might get under the nbladewill be embedded therein and not prevent the lsaid blade from claspingthe sheet;` eleventh, in the cover or covers, constructed and applied soas to prevent the escape into the room of any bronziug material,twelfth, in the general arrangement of all the parts, as will be fullyset forth hereinafter.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my improved machine,I will proceed to describe the construction and operation ofthe same,referring by letters to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 isan end elevation of a bronzin'gmachine embracing my improvements. Fig. 2is a similar view at the opposite end of the machine. Fig. 3 is avertical cross-section at the lines :c w, Fig. 1. Fig. 4f is alongitudinal vertical section in detail, showing the construction of thehopper and its rel ation to the bronzing-roller and cylinder. Fig. 5 isavertical cross-section at the line yy, Fig. 4 5 and Fig. 6 is a detailview, showing the construction and operation of the gripers and thesprings for closing the arm-holes in the cylinder.

Similar letters of reference denote like parts in the several gures.

A is the frame ofthe machine, so constructed as vto form the properbearings for all the neces-` sary journals, and adapted to rest upon atable or the floor, according to size of machine, and so formed as toprovide supports for the feedingtable B. The bronzing-rollerU vis hungin adjustable bearings in the upwardly-extended portion of the frame,and on one side of the frame (which is at that end of theroller that isdriven by the friction-rollers) is pivoted a raising-lever, D, which isconnected, by an arm, a, to the shaft of the bronze-roller C, so thatdepressing the handle of the lever will raise the roller out of gear andaway from the cylinderl and stop its motion as well as that oftherevolving bronze-cylinder E, with which it is connected by a belt, b,passing around cone. c on their respective shafts. To automaticallyraise" the bronzing-roller from the cylinder during the travel of thatpart of the same not covered by the sheet l provide a rais- Ying-platform or rail on the outer edge of the cylinder, (which may beapplied in any desirable manner,) and hang from the bronzing-rollershaft or box a leg, 8, provided with a caster-wheel, 9, which, runningup onto the raising-platfbrm or rail, lifts the bronze-roller oii' fromthe cylinder and' out of gear. The object of the spring-bearings of thebronzing-roller is to admit of this operation as well as Varying thedistance between the periphery of the bronze-roller and cylinder proper,F, when working sheets of greater or less thickness, in which case,should it be necessary to raise the bronzefroller to such extent as tothrow it out of gear with its driving friction-pulley, au extra rubberorfriction-tire is sprung onto the bronze-roller pulley. To raise theroller for this purpose the lever is not used, but theV cylinder isrotated the cleaning-rollers, both the upper one, O, and the lower one,O', are rotated at the same speed (that is with reference to each other)and in a direction indicated by the arrows, which is the reverseof theline of motion of the cylinder F. The shafts of these cleaning-rollersare mounted in adjustable bearings, which are controlled byadjusting-screws e e, and for the same reason that the bronzing-rolleris made adjustable and the teeth of the gears are necessarily made quitelong to admit of this adjustment without destroying the action of oneupon the other. Mounted in the frame A, and somewhat above the center ofthe cleaning-rollers O O', in similar adjustable bearings, are twocleaningbrushes, l? P', which are driven from the other end ofthemachine by means of a main gear, Q, meshing into two intermediate gears,Q', which, in turn, mesh with pinions R keyed to the shafts ofthebrushes P P'; and this train of gearing is so arranged with reference tospeedas to drive the brushes much faster than the cleaning-rollers `OO'. Hung in arms/'is a reel, R', which is simply two disks joined byhorizontal wires arranged in the arc and a central shaft, upon whichthere is a small pulley, which is run by a belt, g, passing around it,and a larger pulley, h, on the shaft ofthe brush. The reel is therebyrotated in a reverse direction to that ofthe brushes and at a fasterspeed, and is so located that the bristles of brush will overhang thewires slightly. It will thus be seen that the 'bronze taken ofi of thecleaning-rollers O O' by the brushes P P' is effectually illipped orknocked out of said brushes Vand deposited into the receptacles S S',which are a sort of drawer, of the shape illustrated in the drawing,turned up at the rear side and having two shields, l 2, shown in dottedlines, running th'e length of the drawer, and secured to the endsthereof'. This drawer is made of tin or other ysuitable sheet metal, andthe bottom and shields run up near vto the periphery-of the cleaning'-brushes (leaving j ust room for them to pass without touching) toprevent the bronze which has beenl cleaned therefrom flying back onto-the cleaningrollers after it has been fillipped or roller O' and itsattendant brush are merely auxiliary to remedy any possible defect inthe-cleaning by the upper one, 0; and, as a small quantity (if any) ofbronze is taken up by this roller, a simple comb,`z', may be arranged toclean this brush. Alarge gear-wheel on the outside of the frame issecured to the cylinder-shaft, said wheel being of equal diameter withsaid cylinder, and meshing into a gear-hub on the main shaft G. Theproper motion and speed are thus imparted to the cylinder F. Meshin ginto this same cylindergear is an intermediate gear, T, which mesheswith a smaller one, T', on the shaft of one of two small drums, U, overwhich are passed several tapes, which form a skeleton apron for.

carrying off into a receptacle at the foot ofthe machine, seen at V, thefinished sheets as they are automatically deposited thereon, as will bepresently explained. At one or more proper' points o n the periphery ofthe cylinder F a groove is cut longitudinally of slight depth, and thenlled up with rubber to form an elasticlbed for the edge of thegriper-blade to close against. The griper isshown at W, Fig. l, asclosed, and on a larger scale at Fig. 6 in an open and a closedposition. This griper WV is composed of a'blade the samelengthtof thecylinder F, secured vto any desirable number of arms a: x which arepassed from the interiorofthe cylinder through arm-holes y, and ysecuredto the blade, when they are drawn back and -pivoted to the interiorsurface of they cylinder, forming a fulcrum, upon which the griper ismoved. The rear or inner ends 4of these arms xm :vw are turned up atright angles, as seen at 3, and have a pierced ear, 4, into which oneend of a spiral spring, Z, is secured, while the other end is fastenedto a similar ear, 5, secured to the interior of the cyl- 'indergv thetendency, therefore, of this spring is tokeep the griper closed downupon its elastic bed or seat; and the object of making ,this bed ofrubber is that should any particle or hard substance get under thegrip'er-blade at any pointit will be, embedded in the rubber, and notprevent the griper from coming down and clasping the paper it isdesigned tohold. Running along, and y secured to these arms @back oftheir centers, is a stift'ening-rod, J, passing entirely through, and

having its ends turned at a right angle, -as seen' at 4(i, which part,coming in contact with lugs 7,

projecting from the frame of the machine and at' the proper points,opens the gripers. In the drawing I have represented these lugs solocated as to open the griper, to permit a sheet to be fed underit f'romthe feed-table,-(after which it closes,) and to again open when thesheet has been nished to drop it on the skeleton apron for conveying itto a proper receptacle. The arm -holes g/ are necessarily elliptical, inorder that the proper movement of the arms may be allowed; and werethere no-means provided to prevent it, these` I holes, when the gripersare closed, would allow bronze to drop throughthe cylinder. Toobviatethis difficulty, and avoid every possibility of escape of bronze in anymanner whatever, I

arrange on the back of the griper-arms small flat springs t, curvedasshown, so th. t when the griper is closed they will effectually lill upor close the arm-hole back of the Vgripers and supply the break in theperiphery of the cylinder; and .when the gripers open these springs willflatten up against the back of the arms and between them and the backedge ofthe arm-holes.

Having described the construction of the machine, beginning from thefeed-table and traveling in the line which the sheet would take in beingbronzed and cleaned back to the feed-table, I will now describe theconstruction of the hopper nand spreading-rollers. The hopper iscomposed of an outer case or box, 7c, converging at the bottom andleaving a narrow longitudinal slit or opening for the passage of thebronze, hung in the proper bearing. In the ends of this box or ease arethe journals ofthe rotating' bronze, hollow cylinder E. This cylinder,which holds the bronze, is provided with a longitudinal door,

through which the bronze is received, and the said door is fastened inany convenient manner. Several rows of little holes, seen at l, Fig. 3,running from end to end of this cylinder, and parallel to the axis, aremade in the face of the` same, which are designed to drop the bronze as4 each successive row o f holes arrives in a vertical line over thebronze-roller, and the speed of this bronze-cylinder, and consequentlythe amount of bronze dropped in a given time is `regulated by acone-pulley on the shaft and run by the belt c, as heretofore explained.Oneor more slides are arranged within the hopper to regulate the flow ofbronze according to the width of sheet. Arranged around the periphery ofthe bronzingroller C are four (more or less) spreading-rollers, lm m fmm, which effectually and evenly spread the bronze which is dropped fromthe hopper on the periph-ery of the plush-bronze'roller, and they atthesame time prevent the bronze from being thrown oft' at a tangent, as hasheretofore been the case. The bronze-roller is 'driven through themedium of the friction-wheel n on its shaft, and the two intermediateones, o 0, the latter ruiming in contact with the large friction-wheel Aon the m'ain shaft G. `A sheet-metal cover, B, made in'sections, is soconstructed as to completcly cover the working parts, and its shape `andcourse may be particularly followed by refe erence to Fig. l. Thoseparts obscured by the frame of the machine are indicated by the dottedlines composed of alternate dashes and dots, and it will be seen thatany escape wh atever of bronze onto any ofthe working parts of themachine or out into the room i's prevented in the most perfect manner.

To fully understand the direction in which the several parts of themachine move, special reference is made to the arrows marked thereon.

Having described the construction, I will now describe the operation.The operative, standing in front of the feed-board, feeds the sheetunder the griper, which' is open when on a level with the feed-table,and closes just before passing under the cover, clamping the sheetagainst the rubber' bed on the periphery of the cylinder. The sheet,having been previously sized, is carried under the bronze-roller, (whichreceives its supply from the hopper and has it evenly spread on itsperiphery by the four spreadingrollerm) when it is completely rubbedover by said roller, the bronze adhering perfectly to the sized portionsof the sheetand lyin gloosely on thebalance. It is then carried underthe upper wiping or cleanin g-roller, whichistravelingabout the sainespeed (which is slow) with the cylinder, and the sheet is slowly andsurely wiped and polished. All the superfluous bronze is carried up onthe'periphery of the cleaning-roller in a direction reverse to that ofthe cylinders motion, and is brushed off the cleaning-roller by therapidly-revolving brush, which in turn is cleaned by the reel, whichrevolves in a reverse direction and with a still faster motion, thebronze dropping down into the receptacle. The sheet then passes down tothe lower or auxiliary cleaning or wiping-brush, where the sameoperation is performed, so that, where the character of the workrequires a large amount of bronze to be used, which might not beperfectly wiped oi' and polished by the upper wiping-roller, then thedefect would be remedied by this lower one. The quantity of bronze wipedby this roller being comparatively small, a simple comb is used forcleaning the brush. The sheet ished, is carried around until the griperis opened by contact with the lower lug 7, when the sheet is droppedonto the skeleton apron and carried along and deposited in the receiverV. As bevarious shafts are under control, and they are regulated atrthewill of the builder of the machine, as experience will dictate.

Having described the construction and operation of my improvedbronzing-machine, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is

l. The hopper, constructed as described, when arranged with thelifting-frame of the dusting and spreading-rolls, inthe manner and forthe purpose set forth.

2. The combination and arrangement, with the distributing-rollers,operating substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.

3. The bronze-roller, constructed as described, in combination with theraising-lever or automatic lifting device, substantially as described,for the purposes set forth.

4. The gripers, constructed as described, in

for the purposes set forth.

5. The closing springs or the back of the griper-arins, so constructedand operating as to close the arn1-holes in the periphery ofthe cylinderto prevent the escape into the interior thereof of bronze.

same of bronze they take up from the sheet, when arranged to operate asshown and described.

having now been thoroughly cleaned and pol fore stated, the speed andlines o f motion of the bronzing-roller, of one or more (preferablyfour)V combination with the cylinder and releasing lugs,

their equivalent on A 6. The combination, with the polishing andVcleaning-rollers, of the brushes for freeingjthe Y 7. The combination,with the polishing and cleaning-roller, or any brushes, for freeingsuperfluous bronze, of a reel or comb for cleaning the same,substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the first or upper polishing andcleaning-roller and freeing-brush, of a lower or auxiliary polishing andcleaning-roller and freeing-brusl1,to more perfectly efectthe certainand complete polishing` and cleaning of the sheet, as hereinbefore setvforth.

9. The bronze-receptacles, constructed as described, With two or moreshields to prevent the return of bronze to th e cylinder or cleaning-rollers.

l0. The rubber seat on the periphery of the Witness my hand to theforegoing specification this 1st day of N ovelnber, 1871.

In the presence ofv p E. F. BENTON.

WM. C. MCINTIRE, JOHN TYLER. (54)

